Artist statement:
Through the collection and repurposing of artifacts from my community—such as worn Kurdish clothes, fabrics, and used rugs—I explore the inherited histories and cultural meanings embedded within these materials. Textiles in my work serve as tools of resistance, embodying the fluidity and adaptability of language. Rather than focusing on what is lost in translation, I rummage into the shapes and symbols that emerge from living between clashing cultures, languages, and materials. My practice draws deeply on Kurdish poetry, particularly the dual interpretations found in its floral motifs—political and romantic—connecting ideas of place, body, and identity. These poems often weave fragmented and imagined landscapes as acts of resistance and survival. In a similar way, I construct new worlds in my work by piecing together architectural fragments, shapes, and textiles. Through a combination of collage, painting, textiles, and installation, I investigate the intricacies of assimilation, material culture, and the contradictions of diasporic identities. My work often moves between the decorative and the interrogative, as I unravel cultural symbols, redraw borders, and reimagine the space between homeland and host land.
Bio:
Nuveen Barwari was born in Nashville, TN and grew up in Duhok, Kurdistan. She received her MFA from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2022 and her B.S in Art from Tennessee State University in 2019. Barwari has shown at Zg Gallery (IL), NGBK Gallery in Berlin, Germany, Duhok Gallery, in Duhok, Kurdistan, Ortega y Gasset Projects (NY), Vanderbilt Fine Arts Gallery (TN), and Art Toronto Canada’s Art fair. Barwari was the 2023 fellow in the Skidmore Art’s Department’s Workspace Residency Program. Her work has been featured in the Nashville Scene, New American Painting, Yahoo Nachrichten Deutschland, Gazete Duvar, and Botan Times. Barwari currently resides in Albany, NY.
instagram: @nuveenbarwari
email: bnuveen@gmail.com